Folding apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for folding two opposite edges of a packaging blank into protective buffers. The edges are inserted into slots in each arm and the arms are then moved together and simultaneously rotated about their longitudinal axes, the edges of the blank being folded around the arms. The folded blank may then be slid from the arms.

United States Patent 1 Carter Nov. 20, 1973 FOLDING APPARATUS [56] References Cited [75] Inventor: Donald Carter, Rainham, England UNITED STATES PATENTS [73] Assignee: Lever Brothers Company, New 2,580,846 1/1952 Sayre et a] 93 59 R x York Primary ExaminerAndrew R. Juhasz [22] Fil d; A 25, 1972 Assistant Examiner-James F. Coan pp No 247 312 Att0rneyLouis F. Kline, Jr. et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. 28. 1971 Great Britain 1 1794/71 Apparatus ding edges a Packag' ing blank into protective buffers. The edges are in- [52] U S Cl 93/84 R 93/36 5 SS 93/53 BF serted into slots in each arm and the arms are then o 93/59 moved together and simultaneously rotated about [51] Im- Cl B3") 1/34 Ulo their longitudinal axes, the edges of the blank being 58 Field oi';;;;i;'IIIIIIII.III.. 93/84 R 59 R 59 PL flded amund the arms- The flded blank may be 93/365 R, 36.5 SS, 53 BF, 1 E, 1 R

slid from the arms.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEBmvzo ma 3372.959

SHEET 2 CF 4 FOLDING APPARATUS The present invention relates to apparatus adapted for folding packaging material, and in particular it relates to apparatus for folding into protective sections, known as buffers, two opposing edge regions of a packaging blank which folded blank may subsequently be used to prepare a-protectiv'e carton for use in despatching delicate articles, such as books, gramophone' records and the like, by post.

The expression edge region is used herein to mean a region adjacent to an edge of the packaging blank which is to be folded along a plurality of fold lines parallel to the edge of the packaging blank to produce a protective buffer.

Hitherto, protective buffers have generally been produced from packaging material by laborious hand fold- By the present invention an apparatus has been devised that enables two opposite edge regions of a packaging blank to be folded intoprotective buffers simply and cheaply.

The present invention provides an apparatus for folding into protective buffers two opposing edge regions of a packaging blank, which apparatus comprises two elongate members, spaced apart and parallel to each other, each elongate member being rotatable about its longitudinal axis and each having a cross-section substantially corresponding to the internal cross-section of the desired protective buffer which is to be folded about that elongate member, attachment means for attaching a portionof the edge regions each to respective elongate members, and driving means for causing each elongate member to move towards the other elongate member and simultaneously rotate to fold the edge regions into protective buffers.

In one embodiment of the invention, the attachment means comprises a longitudinal slot in each elongate member opposed to a corresponding slot in the other elongate member.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention the at-.

tachment means comprises one or more apertures in one face of each elongate member connected to a passageway in that elongate member, the passageway being adapted to be connected to means for evacuating the passageway so that one edge region of a packaging blank may be held on that face of the elongate member by atmospheric pressure.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, each elongate member has a shaft portion of circular crosssection, and a length of cord-like material wrapped around each shaft and tensioned to grip the shaft so that when the elongate members are moved towards one another the shafts travel along the cord-like material and thereby cause the elongate members to rotate in the desired manner.

Preferably, each elongate member can be mounted to rotate at one end of one of two pivoted limbs,-both limbs lying in a single plane and being capable of being pivoted towards and away from each other in that plane. Conveniently, each limb may pivot within a guide, which guide may incorporate a pair of stops for each limb.

The driving means can comprise means for pivoting the limbs towards one another. Resilient spring means can be provided to urge the limbs away from one another, the driving means acting against the resilient spring means when the limbs are pivoted towards one another.

In an alternative embodiment, the elongate members may be mounted such that they execute straight-line motion.

In general, protective buffers used inpackaging are rectangular in cross-section and, therefore, the elongate members of an apparatus in accordance with the invention will generally also be of rectangular crosssection. However, elongate members of other crosssections, such as triangular cross-sections, may be used if protective buffers of a corresponding cross-section are desired.

In general, it will be desired that the protective buffers folded from a packaging blank by an apparatus of the invention will lie on the same face of the packaging blank and thus, in general, when the two elongate members of an apparatus of the invention move towards each other the directions of their rotations will be mutually opposing.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an elevation of one side of a blank folding apparatus according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of a'portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show the initial and final stages respectively of the folding into a protective buffer of an edge region of a packaging blank by an apparatus of the type shown in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 6 shows a modification to the apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 3.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus comprises the following features:

One end of each of two limbs 1 is pivotally attached at a point 2 to a common base 3. At the other end of each limb is attached a U-shaped member 4, in which is mounted a shaft 5 (seen only in FIG. 2) which is free to rotate about its longitudinal axis in the U-shaped member. Two elongate members, each comprising an arm 6 co-axial with and attached to one end of a shaft 5, and an L-shaped member comprising two flanges 7 and 8 attached to each arm such that a narrow slot 9 exists between the arm and one flange 8 of the L- shaped member. The two arms are parallel, and extend substantially horizontal from the apparatus. Each flange 8 extends beyond the arm 6 with which it is associated. The slots 9 comprise the means for attaching a portion of an edge region to each of the elongate members, and are arranged so that when the limbs l are at their outermost positions the slots are mutually opposing. A length of cord 10 is wrapped a number of times around each shaft 5, and the cord is kept taut by being attached at each end to a spring 11 which spring is attached to a frame 12 of the apparatus. The two limbs 1 pivot within a guide means consisting of four parallel bars 13 attached to the frame 12 of the apparatus. Two pairs of adjustable stops l4 and 15 are provided in the guide to restrict the extent to which the limbs can pivot about points 2. A spring 16 is attached to each limb l and the frame 12 to urge each limb against the outer stops 14. A driving means for the limbs comprises a cord 17 attached to each limb l and running around a pair of pulleys l8 and a single pulley 19 which is attached to the end of a shaft extending from a pneumatic cylinder 20. A table 21 supported by a framework 22 is provided to take the weight of a packaging blank which is placed between the arms 6.

FIG. 3 shows in enlarged detail a portion of the apparatus depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. The cord 10 wrapped around shaft in the U-shaped member 4 can be clearly seen. The construction of the elongate member can also be seen, with the slot 9 existing between the extended flange 8 of the L-shaped member and the face 23 of the arm 6. The limb l is resting against the stop 14 between the guiding bars 13.

An elongate member of the type shown in FIG. 3 will produce a folded protective buffer having an internal cross-section approximately corresponding to the overall cross-section of the arm 6 and the flange 7.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the use of the apparatus in folding an edge region of a packaging blank 24. To assist folding the packaging blank may be previously scored along fold lines 25, 26, 27 and 28, and for the purposes of this description the edge region of the packaging blank will be taken as being the region extending from the edge 29 of the packaging blank up to the fold line 28. In use an outer portion 30 of two opposing edge regions of the packaging blank is inserted into the slots 9, the extension of each flange 8 acting as a guide to aid this insertion. The pneumatic cylinder is then actuated and by means of cord 17 draws the pivoted limbs 1 towards each other as far as the inner stops l5 permit. The inward movement of each limb causes each shaft 5 to travel along the cord and each shaft is thereby caused to rotate. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the arm 6 moves from left to right and is simultaneously rotated through 360 in a clockwise direction about its longitudinal axis. When the limb associated with this arm has reached its associated inner stop 15, the motion and rotation of the arm ceases and the arm is then in the situation depicted in FIG. 5, in which it can be seen that the edge region of the packaging blank has been folded around the arm along the fold lines 25, 26, 27 and 28 to produce a protective tubular boxsectioned buffer. A simultaneous corresponding motion and rotation of the other arm (not seen in FIGS. 4 and 5) also occurs. When the pivoted limbs have reached the inner stops 15, the folded packaging blank can be removed from the apparatus by sliding it off the arms, and can perform on it any further hand folding or machine folding operations as are required. When the folded packaging blank has been removed from the apparatus the air pressure in the pneumatic cylinder 20 is released, and the springs 16 will return the limbs 1 to their initial positions against the outer stops 14. The apparatus is then ready for use in folding a further packaging blank.

In order to reduce friction between a folded packaging blank and the arms 6 of the apparatus just described, and thereby to facilitate the removal of the folded packaging blank from the apparatus, the arms can be modified as shown in FIG. 6 each arm 6 being relieved along its length by a recess 31 in each face. The edge 32 of the arm 6 is in the same plane as the outer edge of flange 7 of the L-shaped member to maintain rectangular the overall cross-section of the arm 6.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for folding into protective buffers two opposing edge regions of a packaging blank, comprising two elongate members spaced apart and parallel to each other, each elongate member being rotatable about its longitudinal axis, and each having a crosssection substantially corresponding to the internal cross-section of the desired protective buffer which is to be folded about the elongate member, attachment means for attaching a portion of the edge regions each to respective elongate members, and driving means for causing each elongate member to move towards the other elongate member each elongate member having a shaft portion of circular cross-section and a length of cord-like material wrapped around each shaft and tensioned to grip the shaft so that when the elongate members are moved towards one another the shafts travel along the cord-like material and cause the elongate member to rotate to fold the edge regions into protective buffers.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which each elongate member is mounted to rotate at one end of one of two pivoted limbs, both limbs lying in a single plane and being capable of being pivoted towards and away from each other in that plane.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the attachment means comprises a longitudinal slot in each elongate member.

* IF III III I 

1. Apparatus for folding into protective buffers two opposing edge regions of a packaging blank, comprising two elongate members spaced apart and parallel to each other, each elongate member being rotatable about its longitudinal axis, and each having a cross-section substantially corresponding to the internal cross-section of the desired protective buffer which is to be folded about the elongate member, attachment means for attaching a portion of the edge regions each to respective elongate members, and driving means for causing each elongate member to move towards the other elongate member each elongate member having a shaft portion of circular cross-section and a length of cord-like material wrapped around each shaft and tensioned to grip the shaft so that when the elongate members are moved towards one another the shafts travel along the cord-like material and cause the elongate member to rotate to fold the edge regions into protective buffers.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which each elongate member is mounted to rotate at one end of one of two pivoted limbs, both limbs lying in a single plane and being capable of being pivoted towards and away from each other in that plane.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the attachment means comprises a longitudinal slot in each elongate member. 